James W. Bishop

Support, Commitment, and Employee Outcomes in a Team Environment

This field study investigated whether perceived team support and team commitment relate to employee outcomes differently than perceived organizational support and organizational commitment. A LISREL analysis was conducted on data from 380 manufacturing plant employees and 9 supervisors. Job performance was related to team commitment; intention to quit was related to organizational commitment; and organizational citizenship behavior was related to both team and organizational commitment. Commitment mediated the relationships between support and the outcome variables.

An Examination of Organizational and Team Commitment in a Self-Directed Team Environment

A model hypothesizing differential relationships among predictor variables and individual commitment to the organization and work team was tested. Data from 485 members of sewing teams supported the existence of differential relationships between predictors and organizational and team commitment. In particular, intersender conflict and satisfaction with coworkers were more strongly related to team commitment than to organizational commitment. Resource-related conflict and satisfaction with supervision were more strongly related to organizational commitment than to team commitment. Perceived task interdependence was strongly related to both commitment foci. Contrary to prediction, the relationships between perceived task interdependence and the 2 commitment foci were not significantly different. Relationships with antecedent variables help explain how differential levels of commitment to the 2 foci may be formed. Indirect effects of exogenous variables are reported.

A Construct Validity Study of Commitment and Perceived Support Variables A Multifoci Approach across Different Team Environments

Social exchange theory suggests that employees feel commitment toward both their employing organizations and their work teams, while also experiencing varying levels of support from these same entities. Unfortunately, previous work has neither fully explored this possibility nor tested the capacity of currently available instruments to adequately measure the distinctiveness of the associated constructs. To address this need, we collected data from 902 employees in four diverse organizations. As predicted, respondents distinguished among organizational commitment, team commitment, organizational support, and team support. Furthermore, as predicted, perceived support from an entity predicted commitment to that same entity.

A Conceptual Model for Organizational Citizenship Behavior Directed Toward the Environment

This article extends the literature of organizational citizenship behavior in the context of environmental efforts. The authors provide support for the development of the construct, organizational citizenship behavior directed toward the environment (OCBE). They define OCBE as environmental efforts that are discretionary acts, within the organizational setting, not rewarded or required from the organization. This study also identifies key determinants of OCBE, including environmental concern, organizational commitment, perceived supervisory support for environmental efforts, and perceived corporate social performance. Directions for further research and implications for managers are provided.

Perceptions of environmental management systems: An examination of the Mexican manufacturing sector

Purpose – Over the last several years, there has been a significant increase worldwide in the implementation of environmental management systems (EMS). Yet, few studies have provided feedback on managerial views of key components and performance of these systems. The purpose of this paper is to examine variations in perceptions of a number of environmental and human resource constructs that are operationalized and measured in the field at Mexican maquiladoras. Differences between organizations with a certified EMS, informal EMS, and no EMS are examined.Design/methodology/approach – A survey was administered to 220 manufacturing organizations in Mexico. The survey instrument was self‐report format with attitudinal variables. Items were adopted from previously published scales. A global hypothesis was proposed in order to test the difference between groups across multiple dependent variables. A MANCOVA and post hoc MANOVA were used to simultaneously evaluate the difference among the multiple metric dependen...

Entrepreneurship and Fitness: An Examination of Rigorous Exercise and Goal Attainment among Small Business Owners*

In todays society, the benefits of exercise and fitness are given much publicity. However, the relationship between exercise and the attainment of personal and professional goals for entrepreneurs has not been examined. Our study addresses the issue by examining the exercise regimens of 366 small business owners and the relationship of exercise frequency with the companys sales and the entre‐ preneurs personal goals. Specifically, this study examines the relationship that two types of exercise—running and weightlifting—have with sales volume, extrinsic rewards, and intrinsic rewards. Results indicate that running is related positively to all three outcome variables while weightlifting is related positively to extrinsic and intrinsic rewards but not to sales. Suggestions then are provided for future research.

Who goes? Who cares? Who stays? Who wants to?: The role of contingent workers and corporate layoff practices

Traditional employment practices since the Second World War had usually ensured job security for a company’s workforce. However, the increasingly competitive environment and the restructuring of companies in the 1980s and 1990s have made this practice impossible to continue; therefore, layoffs have become a fact of life for employees in an increasing number of industries. The purpose of this study was to examine attitudes in two employment environments, one in which temporary workers were used to shield permanent employees from layoffs and another in which layoff decisions were made without regard to permanent or temporary status. Specifically, examination was made of the relationships among perceived organizational support (POS), organizational commitment, and intention to quit, and the relative levels of these variables across two environments and the two classes of workers. It was found that, as expected, the relationships among the commitment variables and intention to quit were similar within both environments. Also, as expected, levels of commitment in the “shield” environment were higher than in the “layoff” environment; and POS was higher among temporary employees in the “shield” environment than among permanent workers in the “layoff” environment. A particularly interesting finding was that, in the “layoff” environment, POS among temporary workers was higher than among permanent workers.

Teamwork in China: Where Reality Challenges Theory and Practice 1

This chapter examines theoretical and conceptual issues concerning teamwork in China. We discuss the increasing importance of teamwork in China’s business organizations and its relationship to the changing Chinese culture and economic environment. By placing teamwork in China in a cross-cultural context, we develop a conceptual model and associated propositions describing how individual attitudes and values influence teamwork.

Reward for environmental performance: using the Scanlon Plan as catalyst to green organisations

Institutionalising, a reward system based on measurable performance and incentives for environmental improvements, serves as a potential mechanism to enhance a firms environmental performance. Our main purpose is to integrate the principles of environmental management and the Scanlon Plan as a means to achieve this. Specifically, our paper advocates the utilisation of Scanlon Plan principles for environmental performance. The Scanlon Plan features (1) collectiveness and cooperation, (2) employee participation, (3) quantifiable performance and bonus measures and (4) an equitable reward system; all components that would enhance environmental performance.

Pay Perceptions and Their Relationships with Cooperation, Commitment, and Intent to Quit

This study examines how perceived in-role (or horizontal) pay differences and understanding of the pay system influence three key performance-related attitudes, namely, organizational commitment, willingness to cooperate, and intent to quit, both directly and indirectly via perceived pay fairness. Toward this end, we apply structural equation modeling to self-report survey-based evidence collected from full-time employees in a major United States supermarket licensing group (n = 159). As expected, perception of wide pay differences was negatively related to pay fairness, while pay understanding was positively related to it. Pay fairness played a pivotal mediating role in strengthening organizational commitment and reducing intent to quit. Cooperation was also influenced directly and negatively by pay differences. Contrary to predictions, however, we found that pay fairness did not mediate the relationship between pay differences and cooperation. Implications for compensation theory and practice are considered.